The reduction of noise disturbances in various medical, commercial, and residential settings is of significant importance. For example, the importance of reducing noise disturbances in hospitals and improving patient sleep experience has been well documented in medical journals, which have demonstrated a correlation between sleep experience and medical outcome. According to hospital survey results, such as the HCAHPS survey, the lowest score nationally is in response to how quiet the area around the patient's room was during the night. Not only does this noise and disturbance affect the health of the patient, but also Medicare uses the results of these surveys to determine the amount of money a hospital is to be reimbursed for patients using Medicare. If the hospital's results are below the national average, they receive a lower payment, while survey results above the national average result in a higher payment.
While a hospital/medical/healthcare facility is described for purposes of example, in addition to medical or healthcare facilities, the hospitality industry also has a significant need to reduce disturbances to guests and, in particular, to guest sleep experiences. A common complaint is noise that results in the disturbance of guests in neighboring rooms, which can lead to a poor guest experience and subsequently a loss of business.
Likewise, multi-family residential facilities have a need to reduce disturbances of tenants/occupants for similar reasons. A means of predicting damage in the management of a facility is also of particular importance.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system which can detect and predict a disturbance, such as to a sleep experience, or detect and predict damage to a facility, and to identify when, how, and what actions should be taken to prevent, reduce, or eliminate these disturbances or damage.